Sunday, April 10, 2011

I'm starting a new thing on my blog, calling it Every Monday Matters. For the next 52 mondays, I will be doing a blog post asking my readers important questions or to do a simple activity that can and will make a huge impact on their life and the lives of those around them.

I picked up this book this weekend:

It a book about making a difference on my least favorite day of the week, Mondays.

So I'm asking you, my reader to head over to EveryMondayMatters.com and check it out. And participate in this monday activity.

FACTS

100 hours a year commuting to work, compared to 80 hours of vacation time.

91 hours a week at work for dual-career couples with kids under 18.

1.8 hours a day doing household activities.

2.6 hours a day watching TV.

8.6 hours a day sleeping.

Time is a non-renewable resource. Once it’s used up, you can’t get it back.

TAKE ACTION TODAY

Stop and think … then make a list of What Matters Most to you.

Take the What Matters Most Urgency Analysis. (turn your music off - this has sound)

Create a list of how you currently spend your time each week.

Organize your list of weekly activities and identify activities that are required and those that are optional or waste time.

Take steps to rearrange your schedule or reduce the optional activities so you can spend time doing What Matters Most.

Don’t waste time.

YOU MATTER

What really matters most to you? Your relationships with family, friends, and children? Helping others? Passions? Faith? Security? Health? At the end of each year, don’t you want to look back and see that you made a difference? That you matter? Today is the start of a new project. Start it off by making a difference in you, your life, and the lives of those you love. This is your opportunity. Time spent on What Matters Most is never wasted time.

What matters to me most right now seems to be just getting by week to week, day to day. I find myself longing to have a better plan for where my life is going, but then, like I always say, life gets in the way. I have a "to do" list a mile long, and even when I get a few things done, I add 10 more so the list just seems to grow. I feel like I don't make enough time for my family & friends and when I do, sometimes it doesn't feel worth it. I need to remember what is really important to me, and put those things first. Take some time off for me, make a point to call my friends and see the local ones. Making new friends is great, but not at the cost of losing old friends. This week I plan to reach out to 5 friends I haven't spoken to in too long, either by phone or sending a note in the mail. Or both!